K Tuner Flex Fuel Converter box not working
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2020 3:17 pm
Hi all,
I recently purchased a K Tuner Flex Fuel Converter box and a brand new Continental flex fuel sensor with pigtail from Xenocron.com.
I've been a technician for a better part of almost 2 decades, and am familiar with these Continental sensors found on GM flex fuel vehicles. I looked at the installation details regarding this converter box and the sensor, and figured implementation was a no-brainer.
Well, I'm bench testing these devices and can't get any feedback from the converter box. Here's a private video I uploaded to YouTube describing my issue, and going over my bench test setup:
https://youtu.be/WXhijjR71uo
My bench test setup (borrowing items from my homemade injector flow bench):
-External 3 gallon fuel cell supplying a Walbro GSL392 > Flex Fuel Sensor > Return back to the cell.
-I am running the pump off of a variable voltage 30A switch mode power supply set to 12V.
-Power supply feeds the pump as well as the flex fuel sensor and converter box.
-The negative post of the power supply is the common for the entire circuit.
-My Fluke 87 ground lead tied into the common, and V+ lead monitoring VOUT1 (Yellow), meter set to measure DC
Device wiring is as follows:
Continential Flex Fuel Sensor
VCC > 12V @ Power Supply V+ post
GND > Common/Ground @ Power Supply V- post
Vout > K Tuner White Input wire
K Tuner Flex Fuel Converter
GND > Common/Ground @ Power Supply V- post
PWR > 12V @ Power Supply V+ post
INPUT > Vout @ Continential Flex Fuel Sensor
VOUT1 > Fluke 87 V+ lead
With everything wired and setup like above, turning the power supply on starts the pump, which starts circulating E85 through the hose loop back to the fuel cell return. The Continential Flex Fuel Sensor is teed into the pump loop line. The fuel circulates in a closed loop through the sensor. At this time, the K Tuner device is also appears to be powered on with a greenish/yellow looking status LED visible through the side of the case near the electrical connector.
I would expect to receive a 0-5V scale signal from VOUT1 of the K Tuner device, as the sensor should be attempting ethanol content measurement, and the converter box transforming the frequency signal generated by the sensor into a linear 0-5V range signal.
I get 0V at my meter when the power supply gets switched on. If I unplug the Continental sensor while the K Tuner device is powered on, then reconnect the Continental sensor, I receive a steady state 0.5V. Out of curiosity, I checked VOUT2. This continually outputs a 1V signal no matter what.
I'm not sure what might be going on. These flex fuel sensors are 12V devices, confirmed through multiple variants of GM schematics as well as many an internet search. My first thought was I might have fried the sensor if for some reason it was a 5V sensor, but I have never seen one of these Continental sensors use a 5V V+ input, they've always been 12V.
I wanted to bench test this stuff before installing things on my car, because I'd like to verify the ethanol content readout/output in a controlled manner to see a comparison with the American Petroleum Institute's ethanol content water separation test method. I performed a few tests with my batch of pump E85 and did the water mix separation method to determine ethanol content from nearby pumps. The water separation method shows my last purchase of E85 to have roughly 70% ethanol content in it. I bought 5 gallons in my VP fuel transfer container and filled my bench fuel cell with it as a way to test this sensor and converter box.
I know for a fact that there is a significant volume of ethanol in this fuel, so 0V is not accurate. Is there anything else I can try to troubleshoot these devices before contacting Xenocron to determine what I should do next? I couldn't find much information about troubleshooting the Flex Fuel Converter box, because it seems like such a simple hassle free device, I just don't know what to do next other than start replacing parts/components to isolate what might be the issue. I can break out the scope if necessary and test the flex fuel sensor native output directly if necessary, because if the sensor is dead, then the converter box rightly won't do anything to output a signal.
Thank you for any help/responses!
Talon.
I recently purchased a K Tuner Flex Fuel Converter box and a brand new Continental flex fuel sensor with pigtail from Xenocron.com.
I've been a technician for a better part of almost 2 decades, and am familiar with these Continental sensors found on GM flex fuel vehicles. I looked at the installation details regarding this converter box and the sensor, and figured implementation was a no-brainer.
Well, I'm bench testing these devices and can't get any feedback from the converter box. Here's a private video I uploaded to YouTube describing my issue, and going over my bench test setup:
https://youtu.be/WXhijjR71uo
My bench test setup (borrowing items from my homemade injector flow bench):
-External 3 gallon fuel cell supplying a Walbro GSL392 > Flex Fuel Sensor > Return back to the cell.
-I am running the pump off of a variable voltage 30A switch mode power supply set to 12V.
-Power supply feeds the pump as well as the flex fuel sensor and converter box.
-The negative post of the power supply is the common for the entire circuit.
-My Fluke 87 ground lead tied into the common, and V+ lead monitoring VOUT1 (Yellow), meter set to measure DC
Device wiring is as follows:
Continential Flex Fuel Sensor
VCC > 12V @ Power Supply V+ post
GND > Common/Ground @ Power Supply V- post
Vout > K Tuner White Input wire
K Tuner Flex Fuel Converter
GND > Common/Ground @ Power Supply V- post
PWR > 12V @ Power Supply V+ post
INPUT > Vout @ Continential Flex Fuel Sensor
VOUT1 > Fluke 87 V+ lead
With everything wired and setup like above, turning the power supply on starts the pump, which starts circulating E85 through the hose loop back to the fuel cell return. The Continential Flex Fuel Sensor is teed into the pump loop line. The fuel circulates in a closed loop through the sensor. At this time, the K Tuner device is also appears to be powered on with a greenish/yellow looking status LED visible through the side of the case near the electrical connector.
I would expect to receive a 0-5V scale signal from VOUT1 of the K Tuner device, as the sensor should be attempting ethanol content measurement, and the converter box transforming the frequency signal generated by the sensor into a linear 0-5V range signal.
I get 0V at my meter when the power supply gets switched on. If I unplug the Continental sensor while the K Tuner device is powered on, then reconnect the Continental sensor, I receive a steady state 0.5V. Out of curiosity, I checked VOUT2. This continually outputs a 1V signal no matter what.
I'm not sure what might be going on. These flex fuel sensors are 12V devices, confirmed through multiple variants of GM schematics as well as many an internet search. My first thought was I might have fried the sensor if for some reason it was a 5V sensor, but I have never seen one of these Continental sensors use a 5V V+ input, they've always been 12V.
I wanted to bench test this stuff before installing things on my car, because I'd like to verify the ethanol content readout/output in a controlled manner to see a comparison with the American Petroleum Institute's ethanol content water separation test method. I performed a few tests with my batch of pump E85 and did the water mix separation method to determine ethanol content from nearby pumps. The water separation method shows my last purchase of E85 to have roughly 70% ethanol content in it. I bought 5 gallons in my VP fuel transfer container and filled my bench fuel cell with it as a way to test this sensor and converter box.
I know for a fact that there is a significant volume of ethanol in this fuel, so 0V is not accurate. Is there anything else I can try to troubleshoot these devices before contacting Xenocron to determine what I should do next? I couldn't find much information about troubleshooting the Flex Fuel Converter box, because it seems like such a simple hassle free device, I just don't know what to do next other than start replacing parts/components to isolate what might be the issue. I can break out the scope if necessary and test the flex fuel sensor native output directly if necessary, because if the sensor is dead, then the converter box rightly won't do anything to output a signal.
Thank you for any help/responses!
Talon.